Fårö Document (Fårödokument 1970)

DIGITALLY RESTORED IN 2017

A few hundred miles from the North Pole lies Gotland,

amid the Baltic Sea, a bit closer to Sweden than to Russia.

Immediately northeast of Gotland... SPRING 1969

lies the island of Fårö,

with an area of 40 square miles.

DEDICATED TO THE RESIDENTS OF FÅRÖ

The island consists of bare hills...

small, shallow lakes, sparse pine forest,

shifting sands,

and cultivated land.

The residential population in spring of 1969

was 754.

Forty years earlier, it was around 1, 100.

FERRY

I don't think people here have it worse

than other rural inhabitants in the industrialized welfare state.

Unemployment is negligible at the moment.

Many people have cars or tractors.

Families have TV and freezers.

Still, there's something alarming about these people's situation.

Gotland has the same relationship to Sweden

as Fårö has to Gotland.

And that really bothers us a lot...

because we're all Gotlanders to some extent,

even if we're often not considered as such,

because we're a breed apart.

Outlying areas around a larger urban area

will naturally be a bit neglected.

MAYOR

- What's this municipality called? - It's not that large.

What does it consist of?

It's a combination of the old municipalities

of Bunge, Fårö, Fleringe, and Rute.

How many people live in the municipality?

About 3,700.

- How many on Fårö itself? - 900.

How much money does a municipality like this have?

A few million kronor.

It's like nothing belongs out here.

I'd say Fårö is experiencing a decline in population.

It's worse for those of us who stay during the winter.

- You're a farmer. - Yes.

Since when?

Since Dad died in '37.

That's when you took over?

Yes, though I worked during his illness too.

FARMER

- How big is your farm? - I suppose around 25 acres.

How many animals do you have?

Now we have three cows and five horses.

I think that's it.

But there's also that huge pig I saw!

- That's a sow. - And other small pigs?

We sold them. We only have two now.

My sister died

from cancer in '57.

That was hard. Per was just three years old.

And the others?

Malin was 14 and Jan was eight.

And they moved in with you?

No, they've always lived here. We lived together.

That wasn't really a problem.

They didn't have to move, which was a good thing.

What's your daily routine like?

I don't really have a daily routine.

I do whatever I like. I'm free.

That's what's so nice.

What time do you get up?

I have to do the milking, so I get up at 6:00.

And then what?

I take the milk in, and then I make coffee.

And feed the animals, of course.

I make coffee, and then I milk the cows.

And then?

The pigs need food, and the cows need water.

Then I start cooking. Per gets up and helps me.

- When does he start his morning? - 8:00.

He's young and needs his sleep. He works so hard.

- How old is he now? - Fifteen.

Then we work in the forest. We work during the winter.

We hired a neighbor with a chainsaw

to fell trees for us.

We just have to take the bark off.

We strip the branches off and saw the trees into boards.

- When is lunch? - From noon to 1:00.

And we water and feed the animals.

Then we have our coffee. - And then?

Then it's back to work until around 4:30.

Then I start cooking, and Per works in the barn.

Nighttime is when I bake and tidy up and wash.

I'm always working my own shifts, you might say.

Do you worry about the future?

I don't know.

Things will get nationalized.

That's a worry. That's no comfort.

- It's not? - That's what's hard.

- You mean it will ruin you? - Yes, and everyone else.

It's not better for us.

It'll be for farmers like it was...

It's like that already.

There are some owners, and the rest are slaves.

It's not so remarkable here in Sweden,

not for those who have less.

Money loses its value.

You can't profit from what you produce.

It was the same with forestry. The pay wasn't good.

It should be better.

If the state doesn't take it over. That's the question.

What's the biggest problem with being a farmer?

The politics, I suppose.

The worst thing is we're practically excluded nowadays.

What do you mean by excluded?

We small farmers can't participate.

Especially dairy farmers.

I don't think large municipalities are such a good idea.

That's when people fall through the cracks.

It's that way with everything. School too.

With fewer people, you take better care of the individual.

It's not good for everything to be large.

People are forgotten.

Do you feel isolated here?

No, I like being alone. That's what's so nice.

Better to have few friends than many.

I don't have a quarrel with anyone. I'm friends with everyone.

I like everyone. I like everything.

You shouldn't hate anything.

I try to teach my children you shouldn't trust other people.

You can trust horses!

You can never really trust people.

You never know what they're really after.

Are your horses your hobby?

They're more like my drug.

People don't understand that I need them.

Or I might as well have a different job.

They're so beautiful and considerate,

more than people ever are.

And reliable. People are never that reliable.

- Are you religious? - Yes, I believe...

like my forefathers believed.

The God of my childhood.

That's all that holds up when times are bad.

In good times, we don't need our Lord.

But I think hard times are easier to bear than good times.

I asked to go to a dance once, and my father said...

"Yes, you may go. It's no sin to dance.

But you should dance like a child."

SLAUGHTERING SHEEP

Where is your slaughtering done when it's not for household needs?

Then it goes to the butcher.

How many slaughterhouses are there on Gotland?

One.

Is there some kind of union? How is it organized?

I guess it would be called a farmers' union.

But the way I see it...

farmers are being taken to the slaughterhouse today

and not the sheep.

How many sheep are you responsible for?

1,020.

Which slaughterhouse do you send the sheep to?

I send mine to the Enskede slaughterhouse.

Isn't there a slaughterhouse here on Gotland too?

Gotland has its own butchers' union.

Why don't you send your sheep there?

SHEEP FARMER - ENGINEER

Gotlanders earn less for all their meat...

than mainland producers, for example.

Why do you think that is?

We're dependent on Gotland's other butchers.

We have no other way to process our products,

so we have to take what they offer us.

So you feel it's a monopoly?

Yes, that's how I see it.

SWIMMING PARADISE

- So all the mail comes here? - Right.

I sort it and give it to Hans.

He sorts it further,

according to how he'll put it in their mailboxes.

Then he comes back with the mail he's collected,

and I take it from there.

I count it and handle the certified mail and so on.

Is this house you live in paid for by the government?

- It's my own house. - It's your house?

It's my house.

I rent it to the post office for the enormous sum

of 75 kronor a month,

including electricity and heat.

POSTMASTER

I've heard rumors it will be shut down.

That's right. In fact, all the post offices will.

We're one of the few left in Gotland.

They'll vanish in the next round.

How will mail be handled then?

It will be handled in Fårösund.

People with business to take care of by mail

will have to travel over there?

Either we go meet the mailman, or we go to Fårösund.

What time of year do you like best?

Summer, of course, though it brings a lot of work.

Late summer, like it was last year.